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(KMOV.com) -- The company St. Louis County picked for towing wrecked cars for police in the Affton area was the highest bidder.

For residents, that means their car has to be towed from an accident in the area, they’ll pay more than $100 more than if the accident’s somewhere else.

St. Louis County police contract with tow companies to haul away cars damaged in acccidents. The county is divided into five regional zones.

Squires Towing was awarded the contract for two zones in south St. Louis County even though they’re going to charge $123 more than the lowest bid, and the county was okay with that.

Normally, the County chooses the lowest qualified bidder, but this time, extenuating circumstances led to a high price tag.

The lowest bidder didn’t have the required facilities, another lower bidder had a criminal past and was disqualified. A third lower bidder, who was $100 less, already had contracts for two zones. The county added a new rule this year stating no company can have contracts for more than two zones.

So, in an apparent attempt to make sure one company doesn’t dominate the towing business for county police, officials added a rule that left them with only one choice—the highest bidder.